--- title: "Do Car Buyers Care Which Engine Is Under the Hood? A Ford Exec Doesn’t Think So" date: "2025-06-17" modified: "2025-06-17" authors: - name: "Adam Ismail" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/adam-ismail" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/do-car-buyers-care-which-engine-is-under-the-hood-a-ford-exec-doesnt-think-so" categories: - "Car Tech" - "Manufacturing" - "News" --- # Do Car Buyers Care Which Engine Is Under the Hood? A Ford Exec Doesn’t Think So ![Ford Bronco engine bay]() *\Ford\* The internal combustion engine will eventually die, but not today. The transition to fully battery electric cars hasn't happened anywhere near as swiftly as automakers expected at the start of the decade. Schedules are being postponed, and plans to [restart]() or [reinvigorate]() ICE development and manufacturing have been implemented across the industry. For traditional enthusiasts, it's a stay of execution worth celebrating, though it may come at a cost. Would you sacrifice a variety of gas engines so that traditional powertrains can live on? This was a question effectively posed by Ford Vice Chairman John Lawler recently. "Where \[combustion engines\] defined what a vehicle was—the horsepower, the displacement, the torque, and everything about the vehicle—I think a lot of that is gone," Lawler said at Bernstein’s strategic decisions conference, [per *Automotive News*](). If the buying public doesn't distinguish between different gas engines at so granular a level, there's arguably an opportunity for engine production to be consolidated. And we all know how much corporations love to share costs in the face of economic challenges and increased competition. What if engine production in five years looks more like electric powertrain production today, where batteries and motors used across the auto industry are sourced from a small group of suppliers? That's the future Lawler expects and, as *Automotive News* rightly points out, is arguably beginning to take shape. Take Renault and Geely's joint venture, annoyingly named "Horse," to construct a family of engines shared between their products, including Volvo's. ![DEARBORN, MICHIGAN - APRIL 11: The new Ford F-150 truck goes through the assembly line at the Ford Dearborn Plant on April 11, 2024 in Dearborn, Michigan. Both the new F-150 and the all-new Ford Ranger trucks were launched today at a celebratory event at the Dearborn plant. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)]() *An F-150 is assembled at Ford's plant in Dearborn, Michigan, in April 2024. *Bill Pugliano/Getty Images** The deciding factors for mainstream car shoppers, now and likely going forward, are based on performance and behavior rather than numbers. Robby DeGraff, manager of product and consumer insights at AutoPacific, told *The Drive*: "I think a lot of this sentiment entirely depends on the vehicle segment and type. Sports and enthusiast vehicle buyers will prioritize this, eagerly compare specs, and place a higher value on the overall 'feel' of said engine in their performance vehicle because they intentionally want the most engaging experience behind the wheel." Pickup truck buyers are similarly driven by measurable differences in towing and hauling capabilities, he added. "But, for your common crossover or sedan buyer, the significance of a vehicle’s engine behavior (horsepower, torque, etc.) really isn’t as paramount a factor during the shopping process," DeGraff said. "Instead, there’s more of a focus on common 'wants' like having good acceleration when merging onto a highway, not getting annoyed by loud raspy engine noise, or, as it relates to today’s car shopping scene, improved fuel economy gains and hybridization." Two decades ago, buyers would ask for either a four-cylinder or a six-cylinder engine. Now, you have buyers who ask for ICE, hybrid, or full EV. "I fully agree with Lawler—with few exceptions (Ford Voodoo, Hellcat, LT7, high-end engines from Ferrari et al.), there is indeed little to differentiate between the vast majority of mainstream engines," said Sam Abuelsamid, vice president of market research at Telemetry. "To the average consumer, they aren’t going to choose a Ford, Stellantis, or Volkswagen 2.0-liter turbo (same goes for the 1.5 triples, etc.) for the engine," Abuelsamid continued. "Other factors are going to be the deciders. [I wrote a blog about this]() a couple of weeks ago, advocating for most ICE development to be consolidated and hybrids to be the default powertrain to reduce the number of variations that need to be developed and certified." ![The 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine inside the 2025 Volkswagen Golf GTI.]() *The 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine inside the 2025 Volkswagen Golf GTI. *Andrew Trahan/Volkswagen** Retreating to ICE simply isn't a feasible long-term strategy, contrary to what you may have heard about [the return of the Hemi](). Multiple viable powertrain technologies exist today and will continue to share the market for some time. "How is a company to fund the development of ICE and EV and everything in between for the next decade and beyond?" Abuelsamid asks in his piece. Consolidation between automotive conglomerates is looking like an increasingly attractive solution. For many enthusiasts, particularly those who continue to stew over the way Toyota has teamed up with other automakers to build sports cars in recent years, it's something of a monkey's paw outcome. Would you welcome the continued existence of the internal combustion engine if it meant more of those engines and their underlying technologies would be the same? Is that a worthy compromise, so ICE technology can persist? You've got time to mull that question over, but experts looking to the future would seem to agree: It's probably where we're going. *Got tips? Send ’em to tips@thedrive.com*[]() ## Author Adam is a Senior Editor at The Drive, concentrating on curating and developing the site's slate of daily journalism, from initial pitch to final copy edit. When he's not at his desk researching leads and working with writers, he's testing vehicles or reviewing racing games, new and old. He joined The Drive in 2023, following seven years of covering consumer technology and cars. A car lover and gamer since his earliest memories, Adam came to know the automotive world through video games. First it was Daytona USA, Sega Rally, and Ridge Racer; then came Need For Speed, which inspired an encyclopedic knowledge of '90s supercars, and, of course, Gran Turismo. If not for them, he'd assuredly be doing something else right now. Adam is based in the suburbs outside Philly, where there are ample roads for his hot hatch to stretch its legs. In his car, he's probably listening to indie rock, drum and bass, or Yankees baseball. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()